Yes, I'm a Palin skeptic--but my uncertainty here has nothing to do with the woman or her politics. The issue, it seems to me, is that before this move Palin--on her own, in isolation--represented a remarkably potent political brand

Sarah Palin and Boston city councilor Chuck Turner probably don't agree on much, but they're definitely united in their low regard for the Fourth Estate.

At a press conference this afternoon on City Hall Plaza, Turner--who was recently arrested on a federal bribery charge--seemed angrier at the press than at law enforcement or City Council president Maureen Feeney, who stripped Turner of his committee chairmanships last week and then scheduled a meeting today at which Turner's fate on the council was going to be decided.

Like Romney spokesguy Eric Fehrnstrom and pretty much every sportswriter over forty, Sarah Palin isn't a big fan of blogs. Or, more precisely: she's not a big fan of "those bloggers in their parents' basement just talkin' garbage"--a phrase she apparently uttered twice in an interview with Fox's Greta Van Susteren.

I have a running argument with a friend about which anti-Obama attacks are racist. For example, I thought the McCain camp's Obama-disrespects-Palin ad played on toxic racist sentiments involving black men and white women. My friend didn't see it.

So I'd be interested to hear what readers think of Fox News's coverage of pro-Obama excitement in Kenya, his father's country of birth.

For months now, my colleague David Bernstein has been assuring me that Barack Obama's going to win the presidency by a wide margin tomorrow. But no matter what he says--and despite how promising the polls currently look--I can't help expecting the worst.

So asks Politico's Jeanne Cummings. But she can't really get anyone to take the bait. That includes GOP strategist Mike Murphy, who says: "I don't see any risk at all."

I don't see it either, largely because the whole Obama-as-celebrity thing has already run its course. But you know what does worry me a bit? This new Obama spot targeting A) McCain's lack of economic expertise and B) his decision to pick Sarah Palin as his running mate:

Earlier today, I accused Jon Keller of working for CBS4 and glibly dismissing charges of anti-Obama nastiness. Now, in a sizzlin'-hot response, Keller has 1) accused ME of glibness and 2) noted that CBS4 is known as WBZ-TV, and has been for some time.

I'll give him point two, and that's it. For starters, consider Keller's objection to my accusation:

The real problem for McCain is that Palin is running a separate--and
scary--campaign that does not seem to be under anybody’s control.

She storms around the country saying: “Our opponent ... is someone who
sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough that
he’s palling around with terrorists who would target their own country.

Here's LA Times political blogger (and former Laura Bush press secretary!) Andrew Malcolm arguing that the press isn't paying enough attention to nastiness among opponents of John McCain and Sarah Palin:

As a growing number of political bloggers,
including Wake Up America, have asked in recent hours, how long do you
think before the mainstream media starts reporting on scenes like a
Philadelphia event on Saturday where people wore T-shirts that bore an
explicitly crude reference to Sarah Palin? With 22 campaign days left,
might perhaps the Democratic ticket also feel the need to warn its
supporters to tone it down?